Message of hope and prayer for brother’s freedom

Since English is not my first language, I would have never imagined I would speak on Irish media, never mind to sit down and write an article for an Irish newspaper.

I suppose my source of encouragement started off when I thought of ways to help my siblings, and one of these was to speak on the media.

It all started when my four siblings where surrounded in Al-Fath Mosque after having witnessed a peaceful protest that took place in Egypt in mid August. There is nothing more difficult in life than witnessing your loved ones being hurt and you are helpless regarding doing anything for them. The situation didn’t just stop at my siblings but also my beloved father, for whom at every second I was worried he couldn’t handle all this news.

All sorts of thoughts would cross your mind, especially having witnessed just a few days before the inhuman massacre that took place in Rabaa Square.

Never in my life would I have imagined any one of my family being arrested.

However, just like any experience, there will always be lessons learnt.

Something I treasured during this experience was the value of family and loved ones. Hard times will always reveal true friends, but also establish new ones. Such moments let you know how gifted you are with the people around you.

There was always a great back-up support from our neighbours, extended relatives, friends, people with whom we haven’t been in contact for years, and people whom we don’t know at all.

Support is a simple word but not practiced by many.

Being a mom of two (one newly born), experiencing all this and enduring all the pain attached with it, I found it extremely challenging to physically be at home, while mentally I was the furthest away from there. During this time any minor help was greatly needed and much appreciated.

I must admit two things completely surprised me. The first was when we heard that a family friend had contacted the Department of Foreign Affairs to do all in their hands to help; the second being that the Irish media had been covering the entire story until moments before the mosque was attacked and my siblings were arrested.

Similar to anything in life, there are always advantages and disadvantages. I must admit my overall experience with the media has been quite good. It’s quite inspiring witnessing someone completing their job with full authenticity and complete honesty.

However, this was not always the case. It was quite hurtful after having put in the effort and time for an interview to suddenly discover the next morning the entire truth being twisted.

So 2013 was full of hope, surprises and disappointment. I end with a message of hope and a prayer firstly to my dear brother who remains unlawfully arrested within the Egyptian prisons, and to all the freedom fighters around the world.